Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to Yahweh. The thunders shall cease, and there will not be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’s.
- BSB Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.
- NKJV So Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
- NASB Moses said to him, “As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will no longer be hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s.
- NLT “All right,” Moses replied. “As soon as I leave the city, I will lift my hands and pray to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail will stop, and you will know that the earth belongs to the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses agrees to pray and stop the storm so Pharaoh will know the earth is Yahweh's. The plague's purpose is to reveal God's universal lordship.
Overview
Moses' willingness to intercede displays God's mercy even toward a hardened king. The stated aim, that Pharaoh 'may know that the earth is Yahweh's,' restates the central purpose of the plagues. This declaration of God's ownership of all creation directly counters Egypt's claim to its gods. It points to the truth, fully revealed in Christ, that all the earth belongs to the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Kgs 8:38whatever prayer and supplication is made by any man, or by all your people Israel, who shall each know the plague of his own heart, and spread out his hands toward this house,
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
- Ps 143:6I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah.
- 1 Kgs 8:22Solomon stood before Yahweh’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven;
- 1 Cor 10:26for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.”
- Deut 10:14Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein.
- Ps 95:4–5In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The heights of the mountains are also his.
- Ps 50:12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
- 2 Chr 6:12–13He stood before Yahweh’s altar in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands
- Ps 24:1–2A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
- 1 Cor 10:28But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
- Ps 135:6Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
- Ezra 9:5At the evening offering I arose up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn; and I fell on my knees, and spread out my hands to Yahweh my God;
- Exod 19:5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
- Job 11:13“If you set your heart aright, stretch out your hands toward him.
- Exod 9:33Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to Yahweh; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 9:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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